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Fire fake-out: Dangerous shoplifting distractions on the rise in Sacramento County
cbsnews.com ^ | June 28, 2023 | MADISEN KEAVY

Posted on 07/04/2023 5:06:37 PM PDT by lowbridge

A fire was set inside big box retailers to distract as a carefully orchestrated team walks out of the store with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise. The shoplifting trend is on the rise in Sacramento County with incidents happening more frequently.

While the motive is still under investigation, CBS13 is the first to report an arrest has been made for a possible suspect linked to a fire inside a Target on J Street in Sacramento. The fire has forced the store to close for weeks due to damages and time to restock, according to a Target spokesperson.

Through the windows of the store, shelves are empty and it's more like a construction scene days after the fire was set while shoppers were inside the store. 

"This is organized crime. They have a premeditated plan: where they're going to go, how they're going to start the fire, and what they're going to take from the store," said Parker Wilbourn, spokesperson for Sacramento Metro Fire. 

Wilbourn said the number of incidents linked to fire distractions and shoplifting is on the rise, recently. Sacramento County is not the only area facing this "new wave" of organized crime, he said. 

Oftentimes, the suspect will enter the store inconspicuously with a lighter and set paper towels or toilet paper on fire. In most scenarios, Wilbourn said, the suspects have a plan where they will start the fire and what items they will steal. 

If an individual willfully and maliciously sets fire to property they could be charged with arson, according to a spokesperson for the Sacramento Police Department. Additionally, they could also be charged with vandalism and theft charges. If the damage or stolen property is under $950, it is a misdemeanor, but over that number is considered a felony.

(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: arson; california; crime; donatedonaldtrump; donatefreerepublic; donatetrump; shoplifting; theft
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1 posted on 07/04/2023 5:06:37 PM PDT by lowbridge
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To: lowbridge

It’s probably just more of Obama’s sons seeking reparations.


2 posted on 07/04/2023 5:09:39 PM PDT by No name given (Anonymous is who you’ll know me as)
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To: lowbridge

Is the one person arrested still in custody?

If not it’s not worth reporting Sacramento, close all the stores and wait for your reparations.


3 posted on 07/04/2023 5:17:43 PM PDT by Rj Snows (Some years back Sacramento area used to be the capital of tomatoes)
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To: lowbridge

Just wait until one of these idiotic arsons turns into “Towering Inferno” and scores of people die.

Will state legislatures EVER restore normalcy and sanity to theft? Set the felony limit back to $50 or $100.


4 posted on 07/04/2023 5:18:58 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone else.)
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To: lowbridge

This is the surest way to get Big Box Deserts, in case anyone was wondering. When it happens due to shoplifting or vandalism, the deserts usually stay dry for at least the next generation, if not longer.

I saw it myself in my hometown of Detroit, Mi. Nowadays, there are some very nice homes and neighborhoods inside that city, places that have recovered and grown more prosperous. However, your average person who is not from Detroit only thinks about it’s national reputation as a city fully locked in wall to wall ruin. It’s not.


5 posted on 07/04/2023 5:19:18 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: lee martell

Do you know if Indian Village area is among the recovering? I saw a video of some very nice old homes there and I hope they are preserved and enjoyed.


6 posted on 07/04/2023 5:41:24 PM PDT by desertsolitaire ( )
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

I swear all this shoplifting will cause all companies to have a front area with no merch, and a walled-off secure warehouse there the product will be delivered after being paid for.

Or every company becomes Amazon.


7 posted on 07/04/2023 5:46:02 PM PDT by Lazamataz (The firearms I own today, are the firearms I will die with. How I die will be up to them.)
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To: desertsolitaire

I haven’t visited back in Michigan for a couple of years (family tiffs and whatnot), but I would expect most of Indian Valley to be in good condition. Take a look via Google Maps or similar sites. See what. Zillow is posting about current homes for sale. Good luck!


8 posted on 07/04/2023 5:47:54 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: No name given

And they’re not worried about prosecution because of soros oboma judges.


9 posted on 07/04/2023 5:56:06 PM PDT by ealgeone
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To: ealgeone

“And they’re not worried about prosecution because of soros oboma judges.”

Or the commie mayor (who makes me embarrassed to be Jewish) of Sacramento. Sacramento used to be one of the nicest large cities in the country. This puke of a commie mayor turned it into a homeless toilet bowl.


10 posted on 07/04/2023 7:34:48 PM PDT by willk (Local news media. Just as big an enemy to this country as national media.)
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To: lowbridge

The shop lifting is bad in Bellingham, WA, too. I got out of my car at the grocery store the other day and a woman offered me her cart. She said that there just aren’t any carts at the store. I said thanks, but I am getting my nails done before I shop. When I did get to shopping, I found that she was right, there are hardly any carts at the store. My daughter told me that people are loading the carts up with groceries and walking right out the door, wheeling the cart full of groceries right to their camp site or wherever. Some of the more expensive items at the store are behind glass. (it is a full service store with clothes, hardware, toys, etc.).

I saw a guy looking at the Legos, behind glass with a little boy. The sales person wouldn’t let him hold the box. The man told the boy that he was going to come back later and get it. The guy was obviously on drugs. The next time I passed the Legos, the same man was there again. This time he had a cart with a little dog on a blanket in the cart. I don’t think that either the boy or the dog belonged to the man. I think that they were just props.

I will never buy items that are behind glass . It is not the store’s fault, it is just too much trouble. People complain about the inconvenience and higher prices, but they just keep voting for Democrats.


11 posted on 07/04/2023 7:42:08 PM PDT by Eva
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To: Eva

Sounds like child trafficking, if that little boy was just a prop.

Did you report it?


12 posted on 07/04/2023 7:50:00 PM PDT by Jane Long (What we were told was a conspiracy theory in ‘20 is now fact. Land of the sheep, home of the knaves)
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To: Lazamataz

Yep. And the back warehouse will look and operate like Amazon with robots pulling the orders and boxing them for you.

Whoever would have believed the USA could fall so far, so fast?


13 posted on 07/04/2023 8:09:29 PM PDT by ProtectOurFreedom (I don’t like to think before I say something...I want to be just as surprised as everyone else.)
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To: Jane Long

I didn’t report it because the security guy was right there and I think the kid went back to his mom. I was concerned about the dog, though. I hope the owner found her cart with the dog in it. I didnt occur to me that the guy could have been trying to lure the boy with the toy. Now, I feel bad.


14 posted on 07/04/2023 8:26:44 PM PDT by Eva
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To: lee martell

Thank you for replying.
I dream of Detroit rebounding.
D-Town! With that old English D. 😊


15 posted on 07/04/2023 8:46:15 PM PDT by desertsolitaire ( )
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To: desertsolitaire

My old high school was Cass Technical HS. downtown near John Lodge freeway. That 10 storey building is literally no more, was demolished about 14 years ago. Ashes 2 ashes!


16 posted on 07/04/2023 9:45:17 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: Lazamataz

This is part of the plan for the libs.

They changed the laws for crimes, so they encourage retail theft. Not for all the reasons you think.

A big reason is that these large stores are, and will, start limiting access to stores. Some require a store id card or on your phome to open gates/doors to enter and exit. They have narrow controlled entrances you cant exit. The exits are also controlled and narrow. One entrance, one exit.

They want the stores to install these systems so in the future, only people using digital currency and social credit systems can shop.

The smaller stores will go out of business or will only have stuff they have to get for customers behind bulletproof counters. The smaller stores that do this can also in the future only get items for people showing a proper digital id. Those that didnt shut down due to the theft lib policies encouraged.


17 posted on 07/04/2023 10:06:50 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Good observations.


18 posted on 07/04/2023 10:50:29 PM PDT by Lazamataz (The firearms I own today, are the firearms I will die with. How I die will be up to them.)
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To: lee martell

I did not go to school there; I worked for years with a fellow who grew up in D-town. He went to Allen Park HS.
Talked about a small restaurant chain called ‘Sign of the Beef Carver’ that he favored, growing up.


19 posted on 07/05/2023 5:43:25 AM PDT by desertsolitaire ( )
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To: lee martell

I did not go to school there; I worked for years with a fellow who grew up in D-town. He went to Allen Park HS.
Talked about a small restaurant chain called ‘Sign of the Beef Carver’ that he favored, growing up.


20 posted on 07/05/2023 5:43:44 AM PDT by desertsolitaire ( )
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